to syllabus

Unit 6:  The Roman Empire. 

readings: 

• Hunt, The Making of the West:  Peoples and Cultures, ch. 6 (pp. 203-241). 

• Lualdi, Sources of the Making of the West:  Peoples and Cultures, ch. 6, pp. 110-112, 115-116. 

QUIZ  will be on  Key Terms in Hunt, p. 241.

Questions on Hunt

Ch. 6 (pp. 203-241)

1.  What were the major innovations (new methods) as a ruler did Augustus Caesar introduce to Rome and why did he portray himself as a defender of Roman traditions?  

2.  What was life in Rome under Augustus like for most of the city's residents?  For instance, what was life like for slaves and the poor, and what did Romans in this period do for entertainment?

3.  What were the keys to being a successful Roman emperor?  Give specific examples of "good" and "bad" emperors and explain what made them successful of unsuccessful.

4.  Some historians argue that Rome's "Golden Age" was based on factors that the Romans could not control, and that this helps explain Rome's eventual collapse.  Think about pages 218-224:  what were Rome's greatest strengths in this period and what big problems were emerging? 

5.  How did the religious movement that centered on Jesus change when it became more popular among Gentiles (non-Jews) than among Jews?  Was Christianity the only "new" religious or ethical movement spreading in the Roman world in the First-Third Centuries CE?

6.  What specific beliefs of the Christians would have offended traditional Romans and what about the organizational structure of the new religion helped it thrive? 

7.  Rome faced several crises at once in the 200s CE.  What caused Rome's economic crisis and what made Rome vulnerable to foreign attack? 

BIG QUESTION:  Think about the entire chapter.  What about the Roman imperial system made it so susceptible to civil war?  Give evidence to support your answer.

Questions on Lualdi

We will focus on two documents for this unit:  "Notices and Graffiti Describe Life in Pompeii" (pp. 110-112) and Interrogation of Christians (pp. 115-116).

Answer the "Six Questions" for both documents:

• Who wrote it, where, and when?
• What type of document is it?
• Who was the intended audience?
• What was the author's goal?
• What is the author's main point?
• What does it tell us about that society?

Notice that the Inscriptions are really several documents written by several people in the same city in different years. 

OK.  Here are the main discussion questions for these documents:

1.  What did Romans in Pompeii seem to value most?  What sorts of things did they care about enough to write on the city's walls, and what do these tell us about Roman society?  Explain, using the evidence!

2.  What does the account of an Interrogation of six Christians in Carthage (written by a Christian) tell us about the differences between the "official" culture of the Roman Empire and the world view of Christians in 180 CE?  Explain, using the evidence!